RICHMOND,
VA – The Richmond Kickers earned three points Saturday night with a dramatic 4-1 win over the Rochester Rhinos.
A crowd of 2,270 saw a pair of red card ejections in between a
barrage of goals as Rochester was forced to play two-men down after
earning an early lead on a Matt Luzunaris tally.
The Kickers retaliated with four unanswered goals as Mike
Callahan, Joseph Ngwenya, Jason Yeisley and Stanley Nyazamba led the
Kickers to their second consecutive victory at City Stadium.
The
Rhinos claimed the lead inside the first three minutes of the opening
whistle when Luzunaris stole the ball at midfield and carried it down
the left wing on a breakaway, taking on Kickers goalkeeper Andrew
Dykstra 1v1.
As Dykstra charged off his line to challenge the streaking
forward, Luzunaris swiftly drove a low ball into the far right corner.
Searching
for the equalizer six minutes later, defender Sascha Görres threaded
the ball through a crowded midfield, connecting with Brian Ownby who
served a long ball over the Rhinos back line to find Nate Robinson deep
on the left flank.
The Kickers newcomer delivered the ball to the far post, finding
Jason Yeisley in the air but the forward’s header soared just wide.